Sick Days
by Adamante
Summary: In which a Super Rare sick treasure hunter is taken care of by a well meaning and clumsy farmer.


Lily never got sick.

There was too much traveling and exploring to do, and so little time. She couldn't risk getting ill and being relegated to her bedroom or the clinic- she wasn't the _only_ treasure hunter in the world after all, and her being sick wouldn't stop their own wanderlust and desire for valuable treasures. If that happened, relics and artifacts that she had been eyeing would be snatched from right under her nose, gems she had shown interest in long gone and sold to the highest bidder. So... no. Lily did not get sick.

And yet here she was, stuck in bed with a sore throat and terribly aching head.

But Mark was also here, so she supposes it wasn't _so_ bad.

"A-alright, Lily," The farmer stumbles over his words as he struggles to balance the tray of soup and juice, both liquids sloshing gently as he approached her bedside. "I've got the soup all warmed and ready, so- agh...! _Hothothhhot!_ " Mark ends up stumbling over something that had been lying on the floor, causing some of the (apparently hot) soup to spill over onto his fingers, eliciting a sudden yelp of pain from the man.

"Mark!" Lily tries to sit up, but the sudden movement sends a sharp lance of pain through her head. "Ngh-" She winces and places a hand to her temple. "Mark... are you alright?"

He gives her a thumbs up. "Y-yeah... yeah, I'm good. Totally fine!" The strained smile and high pitch of his voice was telling her otherwise. "But you need to lie back down, Lily. You've gotta get better."

She sighs. "I know, but... are you sure you're alright? You don't have to waste your time nursing me, you know. I'm sure you've got much better things to do with your time."

Of course, she would be lying if she said his insistence on taking care of her hadn't warmed her heart, or made it skip a beat or two, but... she couldn't be so forthcoming about that. About her _feelings_ towards him. Lily had no idea if he felt similarly, and such a move may very well scare him off entirely. So in the end, selflessness would beat out selfishness, for as much as she wanted him to stay, she would give him the choice to leave if he so wanted.

"Something better?" He laughs. "I can't think of anything at the moment, no. Nothing more important than taking care of you."

Even though her face had already been flushed from the heat of the fever, she feels it growing even warmer, if that was humanly possible. With it came a swell of happiness, and Lily smiles gratefully at him. "...Thank you, Mark. Truly."

He returns her smile with a brilliant one of his own, and Lily doesn't think she's seen anything more beautiful in her life.

"No problem, Lily. Anything for you."

It was in that moment that Lily reasoned that being sick wasn't the end of world.

* * *

Mark was surprisingly clumsy, as Lily had learned in these last few hours.

Since he was pretty much the man who kept the islands functioning, Lily always had him pegged as the capable type. The sort of person who always had everything together. That wasn't to say that Mark wasn't capable, because he certainly was, but he... made a lot more mistakes than Lily would have figured he would. The soup spilling had only been the start of it.

After that, the two of them had a rather embarassing exchange wherein he attempted to spoon feed her, because in his words, 'That was what caretakers did for sick people, right?' And Lily had to inform him that, no, that wasn't necessarily the case, and she was perfectly capable of feeding herself, thank you very much. Both of their faces had been spectacularly red after that, though Lily could fortunately thank her blush on the fever. She supposed Mark's was because he was embarrassed about his mistake.

Tripping was another thing that seemed to be common with him today. Also bumping into things. It was like his motor skills (which she was sure were better than this) had completely disappeared, and he was relearning how move like a regular person again. Lily entertained the notion that there was a reason for this sudden bout of uncharacteristic clumsiness, though she couldn't fathom what that reason would be.

Eventually, Mark decided to stop working (or rather, messing up her room with all of his accidents) and actually take a seat next to her bedside, the two of them eventually falling into relaxed, companionable conversation.

And if Lily's heart would flutter at his laugh or smile, or if Mark would make the occasional comment that _sounded_ like he was coming on to her but could just as easily be her imagination, or... if the two of them would stop talking at regular intervals, and stare at each other for what was a _tad_ longer than necessary, then... well. It wasn't like it meant anything _special_. And if it did mean anything special...

...then maybe this whole being sick thing wasn't so bad.

* * *

At some point Lily must have fallen asleep, because when she opens her eyes next, she's met with a darkened room, illuminated only by the moonlight streaming in through the windows.

Disappointed that she had apparently fallen asleep while she had been speaking with Mark, Lily sighs softly and sits up in her bed. The ache in her head had mostly subsided, and while there was still some soreness in her throat, it was much less irritating than before. It seemed she was only beginning to get better. At least enough to be able to get up and take a shower, because _Goddess_ she couldn't take sitting around with all the sweat that had built up on her skin.

She shifts, and makes to get out of the bed when she suddenly moves her hand and feels the rough, calloused fingers of another one under her own.

Lily gasps in surprise, and whips her head around to see Mark, unmoved from his earlier spot. Only this time he was asleep, and his head was hanging limply to the side. Even in sleep, his expression was a cheerful one, the small smile on his lips bringing one to her own.

The woman glances down at her hand over his, and she gives it an affectionate squeeze before settling back into the bed, refusing to let it go.

She supposes she could endure the ickiness for a bit longer, and go back to sleep. Mark had been working hard to take care of her all day, after all, and it would be terribly rude for her to wake him from his much needed sleep.

If he woke up later and noticed her holding his hand, then... she could always say she had done it in her sleep.

Or she could be honest. That might be fine, too.

Lily never got sick, but she did this time, and maybe- maybe it wasn't one of the _worst_ things to happen to her.

In fact, it might have been one of the best.

* * *

 **A/N:** Hey, so! It's been a while, huh? A lot of you probably don't remember me, but I wrote few fics for this fandom a few years back, from the years '08 to around... '12-ish? I entered college around that time, and things got hella busy, so I kinda fell off of the fanfiction writing wagon, aha. But since things are starting to calm down some, and I'm starting to get back into that fic writing mood, I'm going to try and come back!

Aside from college, I've been dabbling in HM Tumblr RP (I'm currently running a group of my own, actually) for the last couple years as well, which has taken up quite a bit of my attention and time. It's fun, though, so I'm not complaining! xD

This little thing right here is actually for that group, as a part of a Secret Santa event we're holding, so... figured I'd post it here as well. As you can probably tell, I'm a bit rusty, but... hope you liked it, anyway!


End file.
